Another Newbie question

Hello
I've been reading all the posts and learning so much. Today we completed our first coop and run. I still have to find some chickens around here and hope to do so soon. I'm hoping someone might know where to buy healthy chickens in the Portland Oregon area. I also was wondering if I have sand and straw in my coop, can I dump that in my garden for next year? I know chicken droppings are good but what about the straw and sand that is sure to be picked up with it? Thanks for the help.

welcome to byc! First off, may I ask why you are using sand and straw in your coop? if you will read the threads on coop and the construction of them you will see those are not the best things to use inside your coop. Out in your run they will do fine in case that is what you meant? straw will also do very nicely inside nesting boxes but it is preferable to use pine shavings inside your coop and you certainly can put the straw and shavings in your garden especially if you use the deep litter method. check out those threads and see what you think.

I live in Forest Grove, a suburb of Portland. Craigslist is a great way to get chickens, but make sure theres a picture, a lot of those posts that don't have pictures may have scroungy looking birds that aren't well cared for. but then again--- you could rescue them...

I use straw in my coop and in my nesting boxes. If I did not have an outdoor tile floor thingy, i would just do sand. Sand (I hear) you can just scoop out the poo with a cat litter scoop, and just stick it in your garden.

Sand + Straw are natural, you can definately put these things in your garden.

Thank you all for the input. It does get a little confusing if you read all the posts on the subject of what to put inside of the coop, some say pine, some say sand and some of the pictures show straw. I guess this is just one of the "wait and see what your chickens think" kind of things. I will certainly check out Craigslist and go from there. I am going to start with four hens for now and maybe go for raising my own once I get the hang of this new venture. I'd like some Rhode Island reds, my daughter wants a silkie. No matter what, this is going to be great fun.

Alot of chicken raising like many things comes down to personal preference.

If you do use sand and or straw, both are find additions to a garden. Straw will break down, sand should not bother it unless you are dumping cubic yards of it at a time. Some plants do better in a sandy environments others don't. Don't worry the amount you will be adding shouldn't alter the makeup of your garden.